Portal, made by Valve for Microsoft Windows and the Xbox 360, is a wonderful game generally and a great choice for playing in tandem with your gamer boyfriend or anyone else you choose.
This is a first person adventure/puzzle game in which your character is a human lab rat for a company called Aperture Science. You are required to navigate through a series of obstacle courses that involve spatial logic and puzzle solving in order to avoid failure and sometimes injury.
Throughout the game you are advised by an AI called GLaDOS. GLaDOS demonstrates a dark sense of humour as she makes questionable predictions about the outcome of particular puzzles, or offers dubious recommendations. Her presence is part of what makes the game especially unique and enjoyable.
The other unique aspect of Portal is directly referred to in its name. All the puzzles involve using portals that teleport your character. There are two kinds of portals, orange and blue, and each leads into the other. For example, if you step through a blue portal, you'll immediately come out of the orange portal. Use of these portals is key to every puzzle in the game.
The controls for Portal are simple. You're introduced to all your movement and shooting options clearly and gradually, and there aren't very many of them to keep track of. Walk, crouch, pick up and shoot are all you'll need to remember.
It's a straightforward game with no real decision-making (except continue or give up, live or die), so it's perfect for playing in turns with someone. Your brain will have a chance to relax and watch the other player do the thinking for a few minutes, and if one person gets stuck the other may be able to find the solution.
Another advantage is the length of gameplay. This is estimated at four to six hours, considerably shorter than most games, and therefore much more manageable for those new to video games.
One word of warning: if you're particularly motion-sensitive you may have some trouble with this game. Movement through portals can be disorienting and dizzying, and it's not unlikely that you'll experience some amount of nausea at one point or another. If that happens just stop playing for a while. Or, if you're the one watching gameplay when the nausea hits, try taking up the controls yourself. Onscreen motion is often less disconcerting if you're the one in control of the movement.
So get playing and watch out for traps. There may or may not be cake.
